Joe Brown M.B.E. hits the road again this Autumn on his first U.K. outing this year. It’s a major tour that takes him up to Christmas and then on into 2016 for another two months including an evening at both Southport Theatre and Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall on the 24th and 30th January respectively.
It’s a long tour, and a tough one, but it could so easily never have happened…and not just this set of dates.
Way back in 1960 Joe was on the road as lead guitarist with Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. Joe already had solo hits with People Gotta Talk and Darktown Strutters Ball so Larry Parnes, his then manager, pulled him off the tour to do his own headline shows.
A stroke of luck? Fate? Who knows. One thing’s for sure, it certainly could have saved his life. If Joe had stuck with the original plan he’d have been in the car crash that tragically cost Eddie his – and the last five and a half decades of Joe Brown’s music would never have happened.
Since that very first hit Joe has toured, performed and entertained like the master he is – a man with a musical skill set to be envied and totally at home with the quickfire gag and the effortless repartee that’s now part and parcel of the cheeky chappie .
Although born in Lincolnshire, Joe was evacuated to London and grew up in the East End in the pub that his mum ran. He started playing professionally at 18 and soon outgrew the music hall songs of his parents, embracing skiffle in his late teens and then rock ‘n’ roll. The revelation that was Little Richard changed his life.
Much has been written of Joe’s role as a U.K. guitar pioneer and rightly so. But, as the man modestly says, “There was nobody around in those days to tell you you were doing it wrong”. So he developed his own style which included playing guitar behind his head (a move that is said to have influenced Jimi Hendrix).
His guitar playing has been lauded by many of his fellow artists including luminaries such as George Harrison, Mark Knopfler and Keith Richards, to name but a few. His receipt of a coveted Mojo Award a few years back proved one of the most popular awards of the night.
Joe’s last album The Ukulele Album demonstrated his love of that instrument, one he’s championed for many years, but his accomplishments are spread wide. He also plays mandolin, mandola, fiddle, trumpet, banjo and, of course, electric and acoustic guitar.
Accompanied by his four strong band, which includes his M.D. son Pete, the forthcoming tour will see Joe playing old favourites, rockers and new songs with a twist. Like a ringmaster overseeing his domain Joe commands the stage and, like the true professional he is, always delivers.
So what’s in store? A great musical evening, a hugely enjoyable one and probably a complete revelation. An inspiring tour de force – that’s Joe Brown for you.
Tickets for the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall performance can be purchased from the Philharmonic Hall Box office.